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The Charred Language by Matthew Franzpublished in Volume 2, Issue 4 on July 27, 1995

I am provided new hope
by the sharp straight sticks
bark peeling from the trees
unwrapping itself down the trunk
layer by layer
the moments
the residual years
the dead flesh cleansed
by peroxide-foam.
Lower the ear slightly to hear
this silent language bubbling anew.
Waft the mediciny aura
to clogged nostrils.
Probe the dark cavities.
Feel the eyelids
of reconstructed dinosaurs open.
Spray the bones with distilled water.
Splash the tarnishing of time:
foreign bodies bonded
where the flesh used to prickle
where hair stood on end.